ADEM rolls out email notifications for sewage spills

The Alabama Department of Environmental Management has launched a new sewage spill notification system that allows users to sign up for email alerts when a sanitary sewer overflow is reported in their county.

According to ADEM, when a sewage treatment facility detects a spill, the facility is required to report it to ADEM within 24 hours. Once that electronic report is submitted, an email alert will be sent out within 15 minutes to anyone who has opted in to their notification system.

Alabama experienced "at least" 1,271 sewage spills in 2016 and environmental groups have argued that a better public notification system is needed to let people know if they might be swimming or boating in waters tainted by sewer overflows.

Earlier this year, a coalition of groups led by the Alabama Rivers Alliance, Black Warrior Riverkeeper, Coosa Riverkeeper and others petitioned the Alabama Environmental Management Commission to initiate the rulemaking process to require better public notifications in the event of an overflow.

The petition referred to a 2016 incident in which hundreds of thousands of gallons of untreated sewage spilled into the Black Warrior River during the July 4th holiday weekend, with the only public notifications being posted to the city of Northport's Facebook page.

The Commission rejected the petition to formally amend notification requirements for utilities, but ADEM has been working with the petitioning groups to improve notifications for sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs).

"We commend ADEM's development of a centralized notification system," Black Warrior Riverkeeper staff attorney Eva Dillard said in a news release. "We look forward to combining this system with other important tools outlined by our petition that will further improve public notification and better protect the citizens of Alabama from sewage overflows."

ADEM Director Lance LeFleur told the Commission at its August meeting that in addition to the new notification system, the department would implement additional requirements for municipal wastewater treatment systems in their water pollution discharge permits.

Beginning on July 1, all new or reissued permits for wastewater treatment systems will require the utilities to implement an electronic overflow reporting system that includes latitude and longitude coordinates for the overflows.

The groups say they will continue to work with ADEM and the Commission on this issue.

"As we enter Labor Day Weekend and Tropical Storm Harvey reaches Alabama this week, we're glad to have these useful tools for citizens to protect themselves while they're out enjoying their lake or river," Frank Chitwood, Coosa Riverkeeper, said. "We look forward to more progress in the public notification system and we are grateful to our many supporters who signed the petitions for improved public notification."

To sign up

To sign up for the alerts, visit adem.alabama.gov, and enter a valid email address in the box on the left side of the page that reads "Enter your email address to sign up for ADEM Email Notifications."

Visitors will be directed to a screen where they can choose from a number of notification options including sanitary sewer overflow reports, and select the counties for which they wish to be notified.